NFL News: Football Stars Dropping Serious Money On Pimped-Out Mouthpieces

NFL stars are going crazy about a new bling.

TMZ Sports reported that professional athletes are currently spending thousands of dollars to customize their mouthpieces with real diamonds and gold. 

NBA star Nate Robinson of the OKC Thunder has joined the "pimp your mouthpiece" movement. He had a mouthguard customized with real gold foil, which cost him $5,300. Dr. Michael Wright of "The WrightGuard", a prosthodontist, is credited for coming up with the idea. He stated that custom protection has become a huge trend among athletes in various sports.

Wright said that he had glitzy mouthpieces made for boxers, football stars and basketball players. Some customizations were very creative, with some customers requesting to have their team logos and Twitter handles placed on the product. Sometimes, team reps reportedly monitor the procedure to ensure that the accessory follows the uniform standards of the league.

In the same TMZ Sport report, Wright said that he was recently approached by an NFL star who will be playing at Super Bowl XLIX on February 1, 2015. He said that he cannot reveal the name of the player but the star ordered a mouthpiece featuring huge diamonds on the front.

He said about his new customer, "The Super Bowl athlete brought his own diamonds. I don't know how many carats, but they were huge."

According to Dr. Wright, the mouthpieces are both aesthetic and functional. The product is made using a unique three-layer process to guarantee that the diamonds, gold and silver are properly sealed so that these do not fall off or injure the player, regardless of how rough the game gets.

Dr. Wright's signature product, The Wright Guard, has established a reputation as a top quality sports accessory. The approach used to create the luxurious mouthpieces is most likely similar to how Dr. Wright made his tried and proven product, to ensure safety and protection for all users. The player's teeth will initially be scanned using 3D CAD/CAM technology to create plaster models that will provide the most accurate fit. Both the teeth and jaw are protected from injury during impacts and collisions.

The product further features a special scaffold design and blend of polymers that will give superior bond strength. As a result, the product has excellent compressive and tensile strength that will maintain protection as well as keep the color of the material despite frequent use.

The new pimped-out mouthpieces are expected to be just as strong.

Check out the photo gallery on TMZ.